From clothing to the painted and scarified nude
body, through overt, public display or esoteric symbols
known only to the initiated, dress can convey
information about beliefs, faith, identity, power,
agency, resistance, and fashion. Taking a 'senses'
approach, Hume's engaging account takes into
consideration the look, smell, feel, touch and sound of
religious apparel, the 'smells and bells' of dress and
its accoutrements, as well as the emotions evoked by
donning religious garb.
The book's global
perspective provides wide-ranging, yet detailed,
coverage of religious dress, from the history and
meaning of the simple 'no-frills' attire of the
Anabaptists to the power structure displayed in the
elaborate fabrics and colours of the Roman Catholic
Church; Hume examines the 2,500 year-old tradition of
Buddhist robes, the nudity of India's holy men, and much
more. With chapters on Sufism, Vodou, modern Pagans, as
well as painted and tattooed indigenous and modern
Western bodies, the reader is swept along on a sensual
journey of the sight, sound, smell and feel of wearing
religion.
Unique in its field, this intriguing
and informative anthropological approach to the body and
dress is an essential read for students of Anthropology,
Anthropology of Dress, Sociology, Fashion and Textiles,
Culture and Dress, Body and Culture and Cultural
Studies.
|
|